Fedor Emelianenko Retires From MMA

After crushing Pedro Rizzo in a mere 84 seconds, the one-time king of the heavyweight division, Fedor Emelianenko has officially announced his retirement from MMA.

After a nearly 10-year unbeaten streak which saw “The Last Emperor” take out championship caliber fighters from every discipline imaginable the likes of Ricardo Arona, Babalu Sobral, Semmy Schilt, Minotauro Nogueira, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman, Tim Sylvia, and Andrei Arlovski, the Russian hit a rough patch once he joined the Strikeforce roster. After a strong start against Brett Rogers, the unthinkable happened, the “The Last Emperor” was beaten, not once, but three times.

The three-fight skid against Fabricio Werdum, “Big Foot” Silva, and Dan Henderson, forced the fallen king out of the promotion.

In his post-Strikeforce career, Emelianenko returned to Russia and Japan, and in a clean sweep defeated Jeff Monson, Satoshi Ishii, and finally, Pedro Rizzo who fell to his fists earlier today. Emelianenko announced his departure from the sport after the bout.

“I think it’s time. I’m retiring from sports. I still have the SAMBO World Championships. My family is the reason I will not be fighting again. My daughters are growing without their father, so it’s the right time to leave.”

While leaving on a three-fight win-streak, Fedor leaves the sport without the chance to prove he can still hang with the greats of today’s heavyweight division. While it is unfortunate, “The Last Emperor” remains the single greatest heavyweight in the history of our young sport, and many long-time fans are sure to miss the stoic Russian and his always exciting fighting style.